life-saving surgery at Soroka

Two young brothers underwent life-saving surgery at Soroka following an aortic rupture

Soroka Medical Center

-

04 September 2017

Prof. Gideon Sahar, Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, “The two brothers were brought to Soroka due to an aortic rupture, a life-threatening condition. It's important for families with histories of aortic aneurysms to undergo tests to identify family members at higher risk.”

Mortality in these cases is very high and rises in direct correlation with the time of the rupture - at 1% an hour. This makes diagnosis as well as effective and immediate treatment essential.

Zihad Amur, 32, from southern Israel, married with five children and generally healthy with no medical history at all was admitted to the Emergency Room at Soroka with a ruptured aorta - an aortic aneurysm.

He felt massive pain ripping through his chest, with no changes in the ECG. Given his serious condition, he was rushed into the operating room. During surgery, Prof. Gideon Sahar, Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, replaced the valve and the aorta.Four years earlier, his brother Mohammad Amur, then 33, was rushed to the hospital and into surgery for the same reason. Dr. Oren Lev Ran, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Soroka performed life-saving surgery.The aorta is the largest artery in the body. It originates in the heart and extends down into the chest and the abdomen, distributing blood to all parts of the body. An aortic rupture (aortic dissection) is a rare and lethal complication. Mortality in these cases is very high and rises in direct correlation with the time of the rupture - at 1% an hour. This makes diagnosis as well as effective and immediate treatment essential. An aortic aneurysm is caused due to weakness in the aortic wall and may appear in two forms: a bulge in the weakened area of the aortic wall or dissection, meaning a rupture in the layers of the aortic wall. Aortic dissection differs from a regular aneurysm. It may occur in the same places, but as opposed to a standard aneurysm which enlarges slowly over years without any symptoms, dissection occurs suddenly: the blood flow separates the layers of the aortic wall, creating two spaces, in other words a “double-barrel” aorta, which is an immediately life-threatening condition.

As previously mentioned, both brothers suffered from the same rare complication and underwent complex surgeries at Soroka.

Prof. Gideon Sahar, Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at Soroka, said, “Zihad was raced into the operating room urgently, due to an aortic aneurysm. The surgery was even more complex, as beyond the bilized quickly and was discharged home a week later.”

The treatment was successful due to quick diagnosis aneurysm, the patient also suffered from a tear in the valve that leads blood from the heart. During surgery, we replaced the aorta and the aortic valve and regrafted the coronary arteries. After surgery, his condition sta by the staff in the Department of Urgent Care (Emergency Room) and thetreatment provided by the staff in the operating room, Cardiothoracic Surgery Department and General Intensive Care Unit: the doctors, nurses, technicians and anesthesiologists.

Prof. Gideon Sahar summarizes, “This is actually a double miracle. The patient arrived in truly life-threatening condition and thanks to quick and proper treatment, we were able to save his life. It's important for families with histories of aortic aneurysms to undergo the appropriate tests to identify family members at higher risk.”